Making sense of chaos

About the time of the nuclear explosion, meaning begins to sink in.

A huge war, as represented by two wrestling clowns, has left the combatants deflated and gasping for breath. Around them, the stage is littered with popcorn, candy, facial tissues and tinsel, much of which has been hurled about by a passive-aggressive gorilla. A cheerleader, a drama queen and a couple of naked dancers -- who’ve been reacting to the war with various degrees of involvement or detachment -- muddle on, while the planet’s fate hangs in the balance.

So one might reasonably piece together that the title “Bloody Mess” is meant to refer to the havoc wreaked upon the Earth by its inhabitants.

Or perhaps not. Maybe the title is a sly wink at the mess the Sheffield, England-based performance collective Forced Entertainment has made -- of the stage and of traditional narrative structure. After all, words to that effect have been flung as criticism at this group throughout much of its 21-year existence.

Forced Entertainment appears through Sunday as the concluding installment in UCLA Live’s International Theatre Festival. Its idea of entertainment is difficult to wrap one’s mind around, but basically this group loves to break the rules -- to unleash chaos -- and challenge theatergoers to make sense of what’s going on.

It’s best, then, to just let the words and images wash over you. Take from it what you will, recognizing that the experience is not so different from other aspects of our technology-saturated, attention-divided lives, as we watch the TV while the stereo plays and text messages flash onto our cellphones.

The activity, collaboratively devised under Tim Etchells’ direction, tends to occur all at once, with each performer simultaneously going about his or her business.

A woman in a dramatic gown (Cathy Naden) prostrates herself as though weak, vulnerable, perhaps near death. Another woman (Terry O’Connor) hovers nearby, wailing extravagantly and splashing herself with water. To the side, a woman in a gorilla suit (Claire Marshall) struts about, hurling fistfuls of popcorn at the audience when she feels overlooked.

A pair of rock ‘n’ roll roadies (Robin Arthur and Richard Lowdon) work the soundboard and try to extend the microphone cable to reach the other performers, often proving to be more intrusive than helpful. Thundering rock guitar explodes from the sound system, drowning out words. Colored lights pulse through a haze of manufactured fog.

Eventually, a clown (John Rowley) begins to relate the theory of the big bang while another clown (Bruno Roubicek) passes him notes, telling him to sex it up a bit. Conversely, a cheerleader (Wendy Houstoun) yells encouragement. A couple of guys (Davis Freeman and Jerry Killick) strip off their clothes and grab big, cardboard stars covered in aluminum foil, to be used as props in a sort of interpretive dance to accompany the cosmic tale.

Festering discord between the clowns finally erupts into a wrestling match, to be followed by one combatant vocalizing sound effects for various weapons, including a nuclear device.

It’s an endurance test; Thursday’s opening performance lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours, with no intermission. But by the end, the audience has witnessed nothing less than the history of the world.

Or no, maybe this is a study of people struggling for attention, callously elbowing others aside to get it.

Or perhaps that messy gorilla will become, in your mind, the pile of laundry that you might more productively have attended to back at home, and the wailing woman will represent your frustration at being trapped in this mess.

That too is a perfectly legitimate response.

*

‘Bloody Mess’

Where: Freud Playhouse, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Westwood

When: 8 tonight, 7 p.m. Sunday

Ends: Sunday

Price: $28 and $40

Contact: (310) 825-2101 or www.UCLALive.org

Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes